With Bowie-based Dance to Bristol’s retirement ceremony slated for Saturday, it seemed an appropriate time to look back at our weekly series on her over the last two months. We talked with the filly’s owners, her trainer, her rider, the rider’s
Dance to Bristol. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.
agent, and several other trainers as we followed her story from Bowie to Breeders’ Cup.
And it was just that: a story. A story of small-time owners and a small-time trainer crashing racing’s biggest party. It was a story that proves once again the old adage that a good horse can come from anywhere, and that sometimes, all good people need is a chance.
THE SERIES
- For jockey’s agent, Dance to Bristol’s ride is his kind of story (September 10)
- For Ollie Figgins and Dance to Bristol, key now is keeping on schedule (September 13)
- Xavier Perez, saving room for another “big horse” (September 20)
- Doing their best by Dance to Bristol has put the Wantzes on the edge of Eclipse (September 27)
- Dance to Bristol’s success is a Figgins family affair (October 3)
- For Bowie trainers, Dance to Bristol’s run is one for the home team (October 11)
- For Dance to Bristol, success is a matter of routine (October 18)
- With last work done, it’s about logistics for Dance to Bristol and Figgins (October 25)
- “Just one of the guys,” Dance to Bristol readies for last, and most important, race (October 30)
- For Dance to Bristol’s connections, disappointing Breeders’ Cup doesn’t spoil the story (November 5)
And now it’s off to Kentucky and the breeding shed for Dance to Bristol. But for Ollie Figgins, Susan and David Wantz, Xavier Perez, and countless other people involved with her, the memories of the unheralded filly who took on — and beat — some of the best of her division will last a long, long time.
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